1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to apparatus that is intended to monitor and control the operation of machines that feed sheets of paper and the like, which apparatus is of the type that electronically monitors and controls the machine's operations of spacing, counting and batching of the sheets.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of counters with various machines that process and or feed sheets of paper and the like, to count the number of sheets being fed is old in the art. Such counters may be either separate from or integrated into the machine.
It is desirable to be able to do more than count the sheets, and apparatus that can be readily attached to existing machines or integrated into new machines for monitoring and controlling machine operation is needed in the industry.
It is desirable to be able to variably space the sheets, to count the number of sheets, to know the number of sheets that have been and are to be fed, to batch the sheets, to be able to change the spacing, count and batch size at will, and to provide a delay between batches so that the batches can be removed for further processing.
The apparatus of the invention electronically provides control of the operations of feeding or processing machines as to sheet spacing, counting and batching of the sheets, and in addition monitors the spacing, counting and batching operations.